Research

Sequence
controlled polymerization

One of the last frontiers in polymer science is the development of
efficient protocols towards sequence controlled materials. By choosing specific
sequences, macromolecules are generated that can form protein-like tertiary
structures or that simply contain specific information by using the sequences
as a chemical code. Sequence controlled materials can be obtained via
multiblock copolymer synthesis, or via a sequence of single monomer insertions.
Both types can be accessed via controlled radical polymerization techniques.
The first relies on continuous reinitiation of polymerizations and thus
requires CRP methods of very high efficiency and livingness. The latter yields
monodisperse materials and thus requires sophisticated separation techniques in
order to isolate the desired product from a polydisperse crude mixture.

Both materials are synthesized in the PRD group through contemporary
CRP methods in combination with state-of-the-art purification methods. Often,
microreactors are used for synthesis to increase the preciseness of the synthesis
protocols.

Microreactor
technology

Microreactor flow synthesis has in recent years matured into a
significant technique to perform organic reactions in research laboratories
worldwide. Microreactors allow for synthesis of materials in a broad window of
conditions and feature distinct advantages such as ideal heat transfer, high
reproducibility and inherently simple scale-up of reactions. In the PRD group,
we focus on the synthesis of precision polymers in flow. Application of flow
techniques towards polymer reactions opens an avenue for scaling up of complex
reactions and concomitantly increases the efficiency of reactions. In this
manner, classical click-transformations can be largely accelerated and CRP
method can be driven to higher conversions while retaining a high livingness of
the processes.

Controlled PPV polymerization

Poly(p-phenylene vinylene)s (PPVs) are one of the most important classes of materials in the area of organic semiconductors
and find use in applications ranging from light-emitting diodes to
imaging in biomedical context. The synthesis of PPV (and derivatives) is
possible on significant scale, yet to date no efficient methodologies exist to
control polymerizations with respect to endgroup functionality, dispersity or
average molecular weight. To overcome this hurdle – and thus to make this type
of materials available for the construction of tailor-made macromolecular
architectures – advances are made in the PRD group to develop controlled PPV
synthesis methods. Therefore, anionic polymerizations, but also the so-called
precursor routes are explored in a combined theoretical and experimental approach.

News

++Feb 2018++

The PRD group officially moved to Monash University in Melbourne, Australia!